Google India announces Mapathon 2013Intends to help create better maps for India by adding their knowledge of local places through Google Map Maker

Google today announced Google’s mapping competition in India, Mapathon 2013. It is an pan-India mapping contest open to just about anybody who lives in India. Google is inviting amateur mappers and mapping enthusiasts from all over the country to help create better maps for India by adding their knowledge of local places through Google Map Maker.

And the top 1,000 mappers stand a chance to win Android tablets, smartphones, gift vouchers and Google merchandise. The registrations for the competition have just opened. Mapathon starts on February 12 and culminates on March 25, 2013

Karthik Babu, a Bangalore-based sales executive began mapping local Indian locations actively using Google Map Maker back in December 2009. Karthik said, "Maps help provide useful information about a state or a city in a way that can be accessed easily by most Indians. In a country as big as ours, it's especially important for us to find better ways to communicate local information. This is why I started using Google Map Maker, if we can all help by mapping local hospitals, schools, rivers, temples, and even petrol pumps, then we can make a difference."

So how does it work? Google Map Maker is an easy-to-use tool that allows users to add more detail to Google Maps through a few simple clicks. Using the Map Maker, you can select a specific area on Google Maps and add new information based on your own local knowledge or by referencing Google Maps satellite imagery. With just another click, you can save and submit your input and once the submitted edit has been verified, the new information will be added to Google Maps.

Jayanth Mysore, product manager of Google India says, “Google aims to provide better maps for India by building better maps for the users, by the users. What started off as an initiative by a few Google engineers is now used across the world and today, citizens across India can participate in this great project through Mapathon 2013.”

Google Map Maker was conceptualized in India more than 4 years ago.